"Norse mythology Norse mythology is the body of myths of the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. Numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts such as the hammer-wielding, humanity-protecting thunder-god Thor, who relentlessly fights his foes; the one-eyed, raven-flanked god Odin, who craftily pursues knowledge"
"Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. ""See Names of the days of the week for more on naming conventions. "" The name is derived from Old English ""Þūnresdæg"" and Middle English ""Thuresday"" (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse ""Þorsdagr"") meaning ""Thor's Day"". It was named after the Norse god of Thunder, Thor. ""Thunor, Donar"" (German, ""Donnerstag"") and ""Thor"" are derived from the name of the Germanic god of thunder, ""Thunraz"", equivalent to"
"""xoves"" and Romanian ""joi"". This is also reflected in the p-Celtic Welsh ""dydd Iau"". The astrological and astronomical sign of the planet Jupiter (♃) is sometimes used to represent Thursday. Since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thunor (Norse Thor in northern Europe), most Germanic languages name the day after this god: ""Torsdag"" in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, ""Hósdagur""/""Tórsdagur"" in Faroese, ""Donnerstag"" in German or ""Donderdag"" in Dutch. Finnish and Northern Sami, both non-Germanic (Uralic) languages, uses the borrowing ""Torstai"" and ""Duorastat"". In the extinct Polabian Slavic language, it was ""perundan"", Perun being the Slavic equivalent of Thor. There"
"one covering the semantic field of ""love, courtship, friendship"" (English ""friend""), the other the field of ""freedom"" (English ""free""). The weekday Friday in English is named after for the goddess Frigg (Old English ""frigedæg""). Friday in Old Norse was called both ""Freyjudagr"" and ""Frjádagr"", in Faröese ""fríggjadagur"", and in Old High German never *""Frouwûntac"", but ""Frîatac, Frîgetac"", now ""Freitag"". There is some evidence that the epithet *""frawjō"" ""lady"" was applied to this goddess. The two names were confused from early times, especially in Old English, where the stem of ""*frīj-"" appears as ""frēo-, frīo-, frēa-"" (a contraction of ""*īj-"" and"
"through the sky. The leader of the wild hunt is frequently attested as the god Wodan (Norse Odin), bearing (among many names) the names ""Jólnir"", meaning ""Yule figure"", and ""Langbarðr"", meaning ""long-beard"", in Old Norse. Wodan's role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St. Nicholas in a variety of facets, including his long white beard and his gray horse for nightly rides (compare Odin's horse Sleipnir) or his reindeer in North American tradition. Folklorist Margaret Baker maintains that ""the appearance of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, whose day is the 25th of December, owes"
"Mjölnir In Norse mythology, Mjölnir (; , ) is the hammer of Thor, the Norse god associated with thunder. Mjölnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome and powerful weapons in existence, capable of leveling mountains. In its account of Norse mythology, the ""Prose Edda"" relates how the hammers characteristically short handle was due to a mistake during its manufacture. Similar hammers (Ukonvasara) were a common symbol of the god of thunder in other North European mythologies. Modern depictions of Mjolnir are most prevalent amongst practitioners of Heathenry (a modern Pagan religious movement) and white supremacist"
"early account of the Germanic peoples, Ēostre attested among the pagan Anglo-Saxons, and Sinthgunt attested among the pagan continental Germanic peoples. Examples of goddesses attested in Norse mythology include Frigg (wife of Odin, and the Anglo-Saxon version of whom is namesake of the modern English weekday Friday), Skaði (one time wife of Njörðr), Njerda (Scandinavian name of Nerthus), that also was married to Njörðr during Bronze Age, Freyja (wife of Óðr), Sif (wife of Thor), Gerðr (wife of Freyr), and personifications such as Jörð (earth), Sól (the sun), and Nótt (night). Female deities also play heavily into the Norse concept"
"inscription found on the hilt Sæbø sword. Individual swastika carvings of Germanic origin, however, can be traced back as early as the Bronze Age and are commonly found alongside sunwheels and sky gods. Though the swastika's exact meaning has eluded definition, its association with luck, prosperity, power, protection, as well as the sun and sky are factual. Mjolnir is also linked to luck, prosperity, power, and protection in Nordic rituals. Also, Thor was the dominant sky god of Norse religion and runestone depictions of the swastika are commonly found beside, or in connection with, his image. One example, found in"
"Dagr In Norse mythology, Dagr (Old Norse ""day"") is day personified. This personification appears in the ""Poetic Edda"", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ""Prose Edda"", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Dagr is stated to be the son of the god Dellingr and is associated with the bright-maned horse Skinfaxi, who ""draw[s] day to mankind"". Depending on manuscript variation, the ""Prose Edda"" adds that Dagr is either Dellingr's son by Nótt, the personified night, or Jörð, the personified Earth. Otherwise, Dagr appears as a common noun simply meaning ""day"""
"Fastelavn Fastelavn is the name for Carnival in the Northern European, and historically Lutheran, nations of Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Estonia, Latvia and the Faroe Islands. It is celebrated on either the Sunday or Monday before Ash Wednesday. Fastelavn is related to Roman Catholic tradition of Carnival in the days before Lent, but after Denmark became a Protestant nation, the festival adopted certain distinctives. The holiday occurs the week before the Christian penitential season of Lent, culminating on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. The Swedish counterpart is Fettisdagen, the Icelandic is Öskudagur, and"
"His feast day is celebrated on July 29, the date of his death. The inscription testifies to lingering beliefs in the pagan Norns, the female beings who rule the fates of the various races in Norse mythology. Here Þórir blames the Norns for his troubles, just as the characters do in the ""Reginsmál"" and ""Sigurðarkviða hin skamma"" of the ""Poetic Edda"". One of the Bryggen inscriptions, listed as B145 or as N B145 M under Rundata, also refers to the Norns. Runic inscription N 351 N 351 is the Rundata catalog number for a medieval runic inscription carved on a"
"Askafroa The Askafroa () also known as the Danish Askefrue and German Eschenfrau, is a type of legendary creature in Scandinavian and German folklore, similar to the Greek Hamadryads. The Askafroa is the guardian of the ash tree. The Askafroa was thought be a malicious creature which did much damage, and to propriate her it was necessary to make a sacrifice to her on Ash Wednesday. The Swedish scholar Hyltén-Cavallius recorded in his ethnographic work ""Wärend och Wirdarne"" a belief of a female creature living in the ash tree, in Ljunit Hundred. The elders used to sacrifice to the Askafroa"
"Frigg In Germanic mythology, Frigg (; Old Norse), Frija (Old High German), Frea (Langobardic), and Frige (Old English) is a goddess. In nearly all sources, she is described as the wife of the god Odin. In Old High German and Old Norse sources, she is also connected with the goddess Fulla. The English weekday name Friday (etymologically Old English ""Frīge's day"") bears her name. Frigg is described as a goddess associated with foresight and wisdom in Norse mythology, the northernmost branch of Germanic mythology and most extensively attested. Frigg is the wife of the major god Odin and dwells in"
"Askefruer/Askafroa. Askafroa The Askafroa () also known as the Danish Askefrue and German Eschenfrau, is a type of legendary creature in Scandinavian and German folklore, similar to the Greek Hamadryads. The Askafroa is the guardian of the ash tree. The Askafroa was thought be a malicious creature which did much damage, and to propriate her it was necessary to make a sacrifice to her on Ash Wednesday. The Swedish scholar Hyltén-Cavallius recorded in his ethnographic work ""Wärend och Wirdarne"" a belief of a female creature living in the ash tree, in Ljunit Hundred. The elders used to sacrifice to the"
", and owns the staff . Thor's exploits, including his relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles with the monstrous serpent —and their foretold mutual deaths during the events of —are recorded throughout sources for Norse mythology. Into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic-speaking Europe. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday bears his name (modern English ""Thursday"" derives from Old English , 'Þunor's day'), and names stemming from the pagan period containing his own continue to be used today, particularly in Scandinavia. Thor has"
"it is ""e Marta"". The English word ""Tuesday"" derives from Old English ""Tiwesdæg"" and means ""Tiw's Day"", ""Tiw"" being the Old English form of the Proto-Germanic war god *Tîwaz, or Týr in Norse. In Classical Roman religion, Mars was invoked under several titles, and the first Roman emperor Augustus thoroughly integrated Mars into Imperial cult. The 4th-century Latin historian Ammianus Marcellinus treats Mars as one of several classical Roman deities who remained ""cultic realities"" up to his own time. Mars, and specifically Mars Ultor, was among the gods who received sacrifices from Julian, the only emperor to reject Christianity after"
"in the fifth house. Venus is the planet of Friday. In languages deriving from Latin, such as Romanian, Spanish, French, and Italian, the word for Friday often resembles the word Venus (""vineri"", ""viernes"", ""vendredi"" and ""venerdì"" respectively). Dante Alighieri associated Venus with the liberal art of rhetoric. In Chinese astrology, Venus is associated with the element metal, which is unyielding, strong and persistent. In Indian astrology, Venus is known as Shukra and represents wealth, pleasure and reproduction. In Norse Paganism, the planet is associated to Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Mars () is the ruling planet of"
"Tuesday Tuesday is the day of the week between Monday and Wednesday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the second day of the week. According to some commonly used calendars, however, especially in the United States, it is the third day of the week. The English name is derived from Old English ""Tiwesdæg"" and Middle English ""Tewesday,"" meaning ""Tīw's Day"", the day of Tiw or Týr, the god of single combat, and law and justice in Norse mythology. Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio germanica, and the name of the day is a translation of Latin"
"Old Norse, Icelandic, Faroese and Norwegian Nynorsk ', jol, '; Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian Bokmål '. The etymological pedigree of the word, however, remains uncertain, though numerous speculative attempts have been made to find Indo-European cognates outside the Germanic group, too. The noun ""Yuletide"" is first attested from around 1475. The word is attested in an explicitly pre-Christian context primarily in Old Norse. Among many others (see List of names of Odin), the long-bearded god Odin bears the names ' (Old Norse for ""Yule father"") and ' (""the Yule one""). In plural (Old Norse ', ""the Yule ones"") may refer"
"inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the modern period in Heathenry. Old Norse (), Old English , Old High German , Old Saxon , and Old Frisian are cognates within the Germanic language branch, descending from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun 'thunder'. The name of the god is the origin of the weekday name ""Thursday"". By employing a practice known as during the Roman Empire period, the Germanic peoples adopted the Roman weekly calendar, and replaced the names of Roman gods with their"
"Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: Lord), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and pictured as a phallic fertility god in Norse mythology. Freyr is said to ""bestow peace and pleasure on mortals"". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. In the Icelandic books the ""Poetic Edda"" and the ""Prose Edda"", Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, as well as the twin brother of"
"Dáinn (Norse dwarf) Dáinn (""Dead"") or Dain is a character in Norse mythology. Mostly the tales relate to him being a dwarf and in others as king of elves. However, in other stories the dwarf god is referred to as Dvalin. His name is found on king Högni's sword Dáinsleif (""Dáinn's legacy""). It is laid with a curse which says it must always kill a man when it is drawn. In the ""Hyndluljóð"" he is said to have made Freyja's boar Hildisvíni, along with another dwarf, his brother Nabbi. Dáinn is referred to as a dwarf in the dwarf-þula of"
"except for Bragi's brother Dag. Bragi Bragi is the skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology. ""Bragi"" is generally associated with ""bragr"", the Norse word for poetry. The name of the god may have been derived from ""bragr"", or the term ""bragr"" may have been formed to describe 'what Bragi does'. A connection between the name Bragi and Old English ""brego"" 'chieftain' has been suggested but is generally now discounted. A connection between Bragi and the ""bragarfull"" 'promise cup' is sometimes suggested, as ""bragafull"", an alternate form of the word, might be translated as 'Bragi's cup'. See Bragarfull. Snorri Sturluson"
"the Anglian houses of Anglo-Saxon England. Otto Höfler also proposed that Svipdagr may have been a ""Dagr of the Suebi"", and because of the names of his family members, Sólbjartr (""the sun-light"", indicating a potential god of the skies) and Gróa (""growth"", indicating a possible goddess of growth), and his wooing of Menglöð (often identified with the goddess Freyja), he further suggested that Svipdagr may have been a fertility god. Dagr In Norse mythology, Dagr (Old Norse ""day"") is day personified. This personification appears in the ""Poetic Edda"", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ""Prose"
"terms of Norse origin for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, then later supplanted these with terms relating to church fasting practices. Albanian adopted the Latin terms for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, adopted translations of the Latin terms for Sunday and Monday, and kept native terms for Thursday and Friday. Other languages adopted the week together with the Latin (Romance) names for the days of the week in the colonial period. Some constructed languages also adopted the Latin terminology. The Germanic peoples adapted the system introduced by the Romans by substituting the Germanic deities for the Roman ones (with the exception of"
"Gefjon In Norse mythology, Gefjon (alternatively spelled Gefion or Gefjun) is a goddess associated with ploughing, the Danish island of Zealand, the legendary Swedish king Gylfi, the legendary Danish king Skjöldr, foreknowledge, and virginity. Gefjon is attested in the ""Poetic Edda"", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ""Prose Edda"" and ""Heimskringla"", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; in the works of skalds; and appears as a gloss for various Greco-Roman goddesses in some Old Norse translations of Latin works. The ""Prose Edda"" and ""Heimskringla"" both report that Gefjon plowed away what is now lake"
"Lýtir Lytir (Old Norse ""Lýtir"") is considered a god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism. His name is either related to the Old Norse word ""hlutr"", meaning ""lot, share, foretell"" or ""lýti"" meaning ""blemish"". If the former meaning is assumed, then priests of Lytir would probably have been spámaðr or fortune-tellers. Supporting this etymology is a story about Lytir in ""Hauks þáttr hábrókar"" (in the ""Flateyjarbók"") during which a Swedish king consults the god. Lytir's ceremonial wagon was taken to a sacred place where the god entered it and then taken back to the king's hall, where it was used"
"to a ""powerful, mighty one"" that ""rules over everything"" and who will arrive from above at the court of the gods (Old Norse ""regindómr""), which has been interpreted as a Christian addition to the poem. In stanza 66, the völva ends her account with a description of the dragon Níðhöggr, corpses in his jaws, flying through the air. The völva then ""sinks down."" It is unclear if stanza 66 indicates that the völva is referring to the present time or if this is an element of the post-Ragnarök world. The Vanir god Njörðr is mentioned in relation to Ragnarök in"
"same journal thread, Leszek P. Słupecki argues that the Vanir remained distinct from the Æsir—except for Freyja and Freyr, whom he follows Snorri in seeing as having been born after Njörðr became a hostage among the Æsir, and thus regards as Æsir—and therefore that Ragnarök ""[has] no importance for their world"". The Vanir are featured in the poem ""Om vanerne"" in ""Nordens Guder"" (1819) by Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger. Some Germanic Neopagans refer to their beliefs as ""Vanatrú"" (meaning ""those who honor the Vanir""). Vanir In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; singular Vanr) are a group of gods associated with fertility,"
"three gods invoked in the 14th century ""Hauksbók"" ring oath, and in numerous Scandinavian place names. Veneration of Njörðr survived into 18th or 19th century Norwegian folk practice, where the god is recorded as Njor and thanked for a bountiful catch of fish. Njörðr has been the subject of an amount of scholarly discourse and theory, often connecting him with the figure of the much earlier attested Germanic goddess Nerthus, the hero Hadingus, and theorizing on his formerly more prominent place in Norse paganism due to the appearance of his name in numerous place names. ""Njörðr"" is sometimes modernly anglicized"
"quickly to pull Odin from the fires, but the sword which he had lain upon his knee slipped and fell hilt down, so that when the king stumbled he impaled himself upon it. Odin then vanished, and Agnarr, son of the dead King Geirröth, ruled in his father's stead. The 12th album of the comic Valhalla is loosely based on the poem. In the 2017 Starz television adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, the character Mad Sweeney refers to Mr. Wednesday as Grimnir. Mr. Wednesday later emulates Odin's reveal of his identity through his various names when reveal his own"
"Thor, not with Forseti. Forseti Forseti (Old Norse ""the presiding one,"" actually ""president"" in modern Icelandic and Faroese) is the god of justice and reconciliation in Norse mythology. He is generally identified with Fosite, a god of the Frisians. Jacob Grimm noted that if, as Adam of Bremen states, Fosite's sacred island was Heligoland, that would make him an ideal candidate for a deity known to both Frisians and Scandinavians, but that it is surprising he is never mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus. Grimm took ""Forseti"", """"praeses"""", to be the older form of the name, first postulating an unattested Old High"
"Nótt In Norse mythology, Nótt (Old Norse ""night"") is night personified, grandmother of Thor. In both the ""Poetic Edda"", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ""Prose Edda"", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, Nótt is listed as the daughter of a figure by the name of Nörvi (with variant spellings) and is associated with the horse Hrímfaxi, while the ""Prose Edda"" features information about Nótt's ancestry, including her three marriages. Nótt's third marriage was to the god Dellingr and this resulted in their son Dagr, the personified day (although some manuscript variations list"